HARRAN

also spelled Haran, Roman Carrhae ancient city of strategic importance, now a village, in southeastern Turkey. It lies along the Balikh River, 24 miles (38 km) southeast of Urfa. The town was located on the road that ran from Nineveh to Carchemish and was regarded as of considerable importance by the Assyrian kings. Its chief cult in Assyrian times was that of the moon god. It is frequently mentioned in the Bible; Abraham's family settled there when they left Ur of the Chaldeans (Genesis 11:3132). In Roman times, Carrhae was the scene of a disastrous defeat of the Roman governor Crassus by the Parthians (53 BC; see Carrhae, Battle of) and of a later defeat of the emperor Galerius by the Persian king Narses (ad 297). Pop. (1990 prelim.) 2,158.